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Alabama Women's Basketball Earns First SEC Win, Defeats Auburn 56-53

The first meeting between Alabama and Auburn's athletic programs of 2022 resulted in another Alabama victory.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A crowd of nearly 3,000, the biggest of the season, filled Coleman Coliseum to watch the first Iron Bowl of the new year, this time the women's basketball edition. This Iron Bowl had a familiar result for Alabama fans recently: a Crimson Tide victory.

Alabama (10-3, 1-1 SEC) defeated Auburn (8-4, 0-1 SEC) in a defensive battle for its first SEC victory of the year.

"We need [the fans] to come back on Thursday night," Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said of the crowd. "[The fans] really helped will us to a win today. I thought our crowd was absolutely one of the best we've had."

The game opened with both teams making their first shot, but the offense slowed down for the next seven minutes of basketball. Alabama held a 16-12 lead after the scoring picked up in the final three minutes of the quarter. Seniors Megan Abrams and Jada Rice led Alabama in scoring at the end of the period with four apiece, as the scoring was very spread out across the team. Rice also stuffed the stat sheet with six rebounds and two blocks.

Alabama's defense was the story of the second quarter, holding Auburn to only nine points. The Tigers struggled tremendously with 11 turnovers in the first half, seven of which were travelling violations. Senior guard Taylor Sutton provided a spark off the bench, scoring five points in a row after a brief scoring drought midway through the quarter. Alabama possessed a controlling 32-21 lead at the break.

The defensive intensity from both sides continued into the second half, with Alabama not scoring until the 7:20 mark of the third quarter. Neither team was able to find a consistent offensive rhythm, but Auburn trimmed the lead slightly, entering the final quarter down by seven. 

Auburn jumped out to a small 4-0 run to start the final period cutting Alabama's lead to three, but Alabama answered with a 6-0 run of its own, which seemed to put the lead out of reach until an Auburn run in the final minutes. Auburn's Sania Wells nailed a three to cut the lead to just three points with one minute remaining. Alabama's defense would hold on the ensuing possessions despite some missed Alabama free throws, leading to a win for the Tide.

"Any time you can find a way to keep people under 60, or right there close, you give yourselves an opportunity. We've just got to clean some things up and finish plays," Curry said. "This team is doing a very good job of coming up with loose balls and making hustle plays, and most importantly understanding tendencies."

Senior guard Brittany Davis led Alabama with a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. The only other member of the Crimson Tide in double figures was junior JaMya Mingo-Young, who also scored 12 of her own. Alabama only shot 31% from the field, with Abrams, Alabama's second-leading scorer on the season, shooting a mere 2-15 from the field. 12 bench points were key for the Crimson Tide as its stars struggled with an off-shooting night. 

"It's whoever's on the floor," Abrams said of the bench production. "It's always good for the people coming off the bench to see the ball go through the hoop. They were really big for us tonight."

Alabama has another home game next on the slate, with Mississippi State set to come to Coleman Coliseum on Thursday, Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. CT.